Cast Shadows

Hi SXCers and guests : In today's trick we will learn how toCast Shadows ,This is a very useful trick ,first , because sometimes it is hard to get the light to create well defined and outstanding shadows that will make our stock better selling and second because when isolating an image , the shadows are usually difficult to extract . for this tutorial you will need Photoshop and do not worry if you are a PS newbie , the visual steps will guide you step by step

Select the object that will cast the shadow use your favorite tool for the kind of selection you will do Rectangle , polygonal lasso etc I will use the magic wand

Then cut the selection and paste it twice ( pressing Ctrl + X and Ctrl + V , twice ) or using the menu (edit / cut ) and ( edit / paste ) twice .The image will be cut out from the background and duplicated in two new layers called “layer 1” and “layer 2”

In our workspace we have the background and our selected object , duplicated in two layers, the object we will use to create the shadow is the one in “layer 1” or the one in the middle between background layer and the top layer . So lets select the layer to start working

In this step we have to distort the image in layer 1 , so it looks like a real shadow. To distort go to ( edit / transform / distort )

Then drag the middle adjustment point in the top, to the place you want to cast the shadow

The blur we have to add ,depends in the effect of space you want to get, , sometimes you will blur it a lot and some times will be only a slight blur ., so play with it until you get your desired effect

This is the last step our tutorial , just to add a more realistic effect we have to reduce the opacity a bit In the layers palette select the layer of our shadow (layer 1) and click the opacity button and and drag the opacity’s slider to the left until you get the desired effect

And that was all

Mine ended up like this :

This technique can be applied in white , black or more elaborated backgrounds with great results, Im sure it will make your stock look very classy and better selling

have a happy practice I hope you can easily apply this trick , and that you have enjoyed as much as I did writing it , please feel free to ask anything in this weblog's comments or write an email to ugaldew@yahoo.com if you have more doubts or comments about this tutorial

No offence but the picture in the example: the first thing I saw is that the light comes from left and the shadow also goes to the left: I think it is very important that people look at the lightfall if they wanna generate a shadow. Am I wrong? Just a little detail missing in this tutorial.

It was helpful to me. I think adding a texture to the shadow would make a HUGE difference. Look at brokenart's pin for example. It looks real but without texture, it would look a flat, gray reflection created in photoshop.

A great tutorial, but I scratched my head at how complicated it was. Doesn't Photoshop have a simple shadow button that applies a shadow? In PhotoImpact, you can apply a shadow with a few clicks, and then separate the shadow if you wish, to move the angle.

Good tutorial but the shadows will always look like a cartoon / unrealistic using this technique. Simply having the object photographed against a white background with its natural shadows is always going to look better.

have to agree with tes. great tutorial and easy technique to master. A+ for sharing - though to give it the professional edge always establish the direction of the light. Oh, teambo is wrong, the graphic artist I employ does killer shadow and reflective surfaces

i have to definitley agree with Jacque, i tried tut's way and then Jacque's way and jacque's was way easier. you form the drop shadow and make it into it's own layer. then transform it. good stuff though

For the life of me I still don't understand why Photoshop does not have a tool to do this. I have to go back to my old version of Paint Shop Pro 8 to drop shadows. That software allows you to change angles, opacity, color, you name it it is great! When will Adobe catch on?

A big thanks to you for showing how it CAN be done inspite of the softwares limitations.